POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 14, 2013) – The Vassar College women's tennis team look to improve on last year's excellent performances and accolades as they head into the spring portion of their 2012-13 schedule.

The Brewers had one of the program's strongest seasons in Vassar history last year, recording a 15-5 record, winning the Seven Sisters Championships, advancing to the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Championships for a second time in program history, and earning the Liberty League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.

Last-year senior Jennifer Beckerman was named Liberty League Player of the Year after a ninth place ranking in the Northeast Region and 31st nationally. She also garnished All-Liberty League in both singles and doubles.

Then freshman Ava Sadeghi earned ITA All-American status in singles and was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. She made Vassar history, being the first player in school history to win the ITA Northeast Region Singles Championships and qualify for the ITA National Small College Championships in Mobile, Alabama.

Last season's team was the 17th consecutive team to earn an ITA All-Academic Team Award, posting a team GPA of 3.2 or higher and six players earned ITA All-Scholar-Athlete Awards with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

“The academic component is primary and obviously these academic awards clearly demonstrate that our women are students first, but obviously excel on the court as well,” head coach Kathy Campbell said.

Vassar started last season ranked 26th out of the 380 schools in the nation and finished 20th and eighth out of the 110-team Northeast Region. Entering this spring, the Brewers are ranked 19th nationally and seventh regionally.

The Brewers bolstered a strong 2012 fall season, highlighted by the first time a doubles pair has qualified for the ITA National Small College Championships. Sophomores Sadeghi and Samantha Schapiro won the Northeast Regional Championship, earning them All-American honors in doubles. The pair won one match at the national tournament, earning them a fifth-ranked spot in the nation and third in the region.

Sadeghi finished 11-5 in singles play and Schapiro finished 8-2. The pair finished 9-2 in doubles competition. “Sam has improved her consistency and added variety to her serve while continuing to successfully play a very offensively-structured game,” Campbell said. “Ava's shown clear improvement in her net game, her transition game, and her backhand, which makes her that much stronger and versatile.”

Schapiro and Sadeghi have earned one of the highest regional doubles rankings of any Vassar pair in program history. Despite having only played one semester of doubles together, they have already established themselves as one of the strongest pairs in the Northeast Region.

Sadeghi earned All-American honors for a second year in a row when she successfully defended her singles title at the ITA Regionals. “It's a superb accomplishment for a player to win that tournament,” coach Campbell said. “It's a greater accomplishment to successfully defend her title with the added pressure at this level of competition.”

Seniors, Natalie Santiago and Jennifer Ruther bring a wealth of experience and have played at various spots in the lineup. “Jen and Natalie have the ability to utilize both pace and spin and are tenacious on the court,” coach Campbell said. “Their work ethic and desire to improve provides a great model for the team.

Each of them studied abroad for a portion of their junior year, so it's good to have them back for a full year.” Santiago is this year's captain.

Lindsay Kantor is the sole junior on the team. “Having played five semesters of college tennis, she's a seasoned competitor who has played both singles and doubles,” Campbell said. “Her consistency continues to improve while hitting with good pace and like our seniors, she brings a lot of experience to the team.”

Anisha Kurien and Hannah Van Demark round out the sophomore class with Sadeghi and Schapiro. “Our sophomore class has strength and depth. Anisha's game continues to develop in terms of moving her opponent around the court and opening up opportunities to finish the point at the net,” coach Campbell said. “While consistency is a trademark of Hannah's game, she has added variety and more offensive shot-making to her playing style.”

The women's team is a prime example of a young team with the Brewers only having two seniors and one junior while showing four sophomores and three freshmen. “As incoming freshmen, both last year's and this year's classes were ranked 20th in the nation by TennisRecruiting.net,” Campbell said.

This year's freshman class of Lauren Stauffer, Kelsey Van Noy and Winifred Yeates excelled, posting solid results in singles play. Stauffer finished the fall with a singles record of 5-4, Yeates posted a 4-2 record and Van Noy finished 2-3. All three add depth to the doubles side of the Brewer team.

“All three freshmen have demonstrated continued improvement since the start of the fall season. They're adjusting quickly to college tennis and have already shown that they will be strong contributors to our program,” Campbell said. “Kelsey, Lauren and Winnie (Yeates) all play with a lot of pace and have proven that they can play an all-court game. Their enthusiasm, work ethic and dedication to the team was evident from the start.”

Vassar will be playing 17 team matches this spring, including two Division I schools. The Brewers already faced one of the two DI schools when they played Marist College in a scrimmage. “I was very pleased with how everyone stepped up and played very competitively against Marist,” Campbell said.

Six of the opposing schools are nationally ranked in the top 20 while another nine are ranked in the Northeast Region. “This is one of our strongest schedules we have had in a long time,” coach Campbell said. “Amherst is No. 1 nationally. Bowdoin finished in the top eight nationally last year and neither of them were on our schedule last spring.”

“Our players are playing at a high level now and yet, have realistic expectations of continued improvement as we get into the season,” Campbell said. “This spring, we're continuing to focus on developing our doubles play, shot selection and fitness.”

The Brewers begin their spring campaign on Saturday, February 16 at noon hosting Fordham University in the Walker Field House.